Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to configuring application programs and more particularly to setup and configuration of an application program using a set of pre-configuration data and a questionnaire.
When installing an application, any number of different settings can be configured for a variety of different aspects of the application. For example, most users of different types of applications are familiar with user preference type settings for controlling the look and feel of an application as well as other aspects of how the application behaves. Of course, any number of other types of settings are configurable as known in the art. As the size of the application grows, the number of configurable features or aspects of the application can grow as well. Thus, for a large application, application suite, or enterprise solution, the number of settings that may be configured or set at installation time can be overwhelming or, at the least, difficult and time consuming to deal with.
In some cases, such applications may be pre-configured by the software vendor or other party providing the software or services related thereto. For example, an application suite may be provided to a user with some or all of the possible configurations pre-set. In some cases, the application may be pre-configured for a particular market, use or application, region, etc. After installation, the user can adjust or modify these configurations. In other cases, large applications can be configured via an interactive process such as a wizard or other set-up routine. These routines, run at installation or upon request, present an interactive dialog to query the user as to the configuration desired which is then set via the routine. Again, the user can adjust or modify these configurations, perhaps by re-executing the set-up routine or by manually changing configuration settings.
However, both of these approaches have drawbacks. For example, using a pre-configured application can create the impression that the vendor is forcing users into a “one size fits all” solution. Such an impression is unappealing to consumers and can create barriers to sales. A pre-configuration application can also hide or obscure valuable flexibility or functionality of value to the customer. Using an interactive set-up routine such as a wizard gives the impression that the application is more truly customized to the user. However, for large applications, application suites, enterprise solutions, etc., with very large numbers of configurable aspects, a comprehensive or complete set-up routine would be time consuming and burdensome. Hence, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems for setup and configuration of an application.